At the conclusion of the meeting of the major superiors of the Society of Saint Pius X that was held in Switzerland, from June 25 to 28, 2016, the Superior General addressed the following communiqué:

The purpose of the Society of Saint Pius X is chiefly the formation of priests, the essential condition for the renewal of the Church and for the restoration of society.

In the great and painful confusion that currently reigns in the Church, the proclamation of Catholic doctrine requires the denunciation of errors that have made their way into it and are unfortunately encouraged by a large number of pastors, including the Pope himself.

The Society of Saint Pius X, in the present state of grave necessity which gives it the right and duty to administer spiritual aid to the souls that turn to it, does not seek primarily a canonical recognition, to which it has a right as a Catholic work. It has only one desire: faithfully to bring the light of the bi-millennial Tradition which shows the only route to follow in this age of darkness in which the cult of man replaces the worship of God, in society as in the Church.

The “restoration of all things in Christ” intended by Saint Pius X, following Saint Paul (cf. Ep.h 1:10), cannot happen without the support of a Pope who concretely favors the return to Sacred Tradition. While waiting for that blessed day, the Society of Saint Pius X intends to redouble its efforts to establish and to spread, with the means that Divine Providence gives to it, the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Society of Saint Pius X prays and does penance for the Pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim Catholic faith and morals in their entirety. In this way he will hasten the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that we earnestly desire as we approach the centennial of the apparitions in Fatima.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius XEcône, June 29, 2016The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

(Source : FSSPX/MG – DICI dated June 29, 2016)

I'm posting this for the record, and to make certain things clear which appear to have been obscured by commentary elsewhere.

This sentence clarifies any ambiguity in the text: "The 'restoration of all things in Christ' intended by Saint Pius X, following Saint Paul (cf. Ep.h 1:10), cannot happen without the support of a Pope who concretely favors the return to Sacred Tradition."

There are only five paragraphs in this text, and therefore only five key propositions put forward.

1. The purpose of the Fraternity is to form priests. Therefore, it does not have some other purpose, such as saving the Church. The Fr. Schmidberger position is precisely predicated upon the assumption that the Fraternity exists to save the Church. The members of the Fraternity will read and understand this first paragraph perfectly clearly. It is repudiating a dangerous theory.

2. Francis is responsible for spreading doctrinal error. This direct reference to Francis places the Fraternity firmly in the position of those who insist that preaching the truth requires the concomitant rebuttal of error. Those who perceive that discussions with the Vatican have resulted in a softening of the Fraternity's public statements will be reassured by this. Again, it is a rebuke to those who would prefer an essentially political approach.

3. The Fraternity doesn't need further approval to legitimise its activities. Its right to function is derived from the state of necessity. This is a repudiation, very clear, of the thesis which suggests that there is some doubt about the Fraternity's canonical right to operate, and which therefore would look for legitimacy from the Vatican.

4. By stating that the Fraternity is awaiting a pope who "concretely favors" the return to Sacred Tradition, it is making abundantly clear that Francis isn't going to do what is truly necessary, and therefore it implies that cooperating with him would be useless or worse. I think this is the most important point in the entire document. It is the one that makes it impossible to seek a reconciliation without prior doctrinal correction.

5. The final paragraph is probably just a reminder that the Fraternity is not sedevacantist. The reference to Fatima is good, and one could read certain things into that, but I don't think they are obvious, so we'll leave them unstated.

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